What's up with the 1st week in November?

[frazzled one]

I think I've got dh almost convinced to celebrate our 25th by revisiting WDW for the 1st time since '97. Problem is, 2 of the hotels we'd most like to stay in (CR and Hilton in WDW) are showing no rooms available for November 2 - 7, which is the best time for us to go. I was hoping to book rooms separately from tickets - we can't do the FTP (not enough time), and we'd want to visit Universal one day. Is the first week of November likely to be packed to the rafters? Do you think blocks of rooms might yet open up for our time period? I'm probably going to book at WL, just to have solid plans, once I obtain the magic "yes" - I hope later today (please cross fingers for me).

BTW - this is my first post after reading these boards for more years than I can count. Thanks to all of you for keeping my Disney dreams going!

fraz

 

[CarolA]

That is the week before Veteran's Day and if memory serves that may what is referred to as Jersey week. (A lot of the Jersey schools are closed). That could be your problem. The other problem could be that both of these hotels can host convention type meetings and one could be going on at one or both of them.

Welcome back!

 

[Emy'sMom]

Hi and Welcome!

The only events I am aware of that would affect early November are:

Epcot Food & Wine Festival [10/18-11/16]
ABC Super Soap Weekend [11/08-11/09]

And ..... I may be wrong here, but, I *think* the first week of November is considered "Jersey Week" . . . schools in NJ have a Fall Break and lots of families head to WDW.

Debbie

 

[bridgettesmom]

Welcome frazzled one
There are a couple of reasons of why the hotels might show no rooms.First,there's Jersey week ,the kid's from NJ are off for most of the week due to teacher's conference plus veteran's day and a lot of families from NJ go to disney.I personally have never been during Jersy week a lot of people claim it gets very crowded others just say they didn't notice.Second reason is Super Soap Weekend,which is held that following weekend.This is held at MGM ,but, most people claim that the rides are empty ,since, almost everyone is there to see the soap stars.Personally,If I were you I would go on with your plans and not worry.Try Expedia or Travelocity to see if they show rooms available at the Hilton.You should also look into AKL the atmosphere there is very romantic..Have you been to the Universal board?? The FOTL access is wonderful, and you will avoid most of the lines,maybe, you should leave Universal for the last day and stay at one of their onsite resorts to enjoy FOTL.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Love your name "frazzled one" and welcome to the board

>>^..^<<

 

[frazzled one]

Thanks for the input! I wondered if we'd be hitting crowds for Jersey week and the soap weekend. I was hoping that Jersey week included Veteran's Day, which would be the week after we visited - can any Jersey natives fill me in?

Actually, we were there during both events in '97 and didn't experience any major crowds or problems. Dh is definitely going to want to stay at the CR again, though - maybe not as romantic as some other resorts, but he hates waiting for buses and loves making that short walk to the MK! We'll have our car there (driving down from NY) and would probably use that for transport if we were at WL, AKL (thanks for the suggestion!), or the Hilton.

Appreciate your help!

fraz

 

[lUVTOGO]

Actually the kids are off from November 6th thru Veterans day for Teachers convention. I was on the Disney Magic last year and quite a few were from New Jersey. We wil be there from Oct 31st To November 12th this year,but I don't think eveyone in New Jersey goes to Disney to justify huge crowds. The Soapfest and the Wine Festival are also very popular.

 

[Lisa3]

Not all "Jersey" schools are off for the same length of time - it depends on the school district you are in. My kids only have off for Teacher's Convention which is Nov. 6th & 7th. We will be in Disney from Nov. 7th-16th. We did this in 2000 and it was better than our trip in Dec. 2002 (too cold and more crowded).

 

[minijeanie]

most kids are off majority of that week. were going. I am also having difficulty with my room selection. Many people I know from my home town are going to WDW as well.

keep trying, rooms always open up...people cancel, change minds, etc.

good luck

 

[KarenMick]

I'm from New Jersey too. I knew a lot of people from my area (South Jersey) went to Disney during the Teacher's Convention and and Veteran's Day because the kids have off Thurs., Fri., and Mon. What I didn't know is that it is referred to as "Jersey Week". We were actually thinking of going in 2004 at this time. Now I am not so sure if it is more crowded during this time. Could anyone tell me how the weather is in November. I've been during the months of April, May, September and October. We would like to get some water parks and swimming in but if it is too chilly maybe we would go in Sept/Oct.

 

[MulanMom]

Another event that's scheduled for Nov. 7-9 is the Festival of the Masters in DTD. It's basically an Arts Festival and according to some material I read, it's considered one of the largest in Southeastern US. So couple that with Soap Weekend, Food & Wine, and Jersey week....I think you get the picture!

BTW, Dh and I tried to make a reservation for this time period at an Epcot resort and were fortunate to snag one for the Dolphin...whew! Not much was available in the Epcot area other than the most expensive rooms at rack rate!!!

Try booking a hotel that is available for your time period. You can always call back and see if availability has changed for your favorite resorts and switch.

 

[frazzled one]

Actually, when I checked yesterday (6/30), expedia had the DTD Hilton available ($188/200 per night for our dates) and showed the CR available for 11/2 through the 5th. I think I wasn't able to find any room only rates for Disney resorts on expedia last week because of the FTP.

Now to get dh to close the deal. He's trying to work out his vacation schedule and should know today. But he still hasn't signed off on spending $2500-plus for an anniversary trip - I plan to remind him that it's only $100/year!

KarenMick, we've been 3 times in November and found swimming was difinitely doable. Several of the websites have weather details by the month - I think the average daily high temp for November is 79, and average rainfall for the month only about 2 inches (pretty dry for Florida). The resort pools are so warm that we'd even swim after dark. Seems as if the waterparks might be a bit less crowded?

 

[Tink1999]

In addition, the Assoc. of Financial Professionals is having their annual convention from 11/1 to 11/5 at the Convention Center. This is a huge boondogle for the banks. Since it is in Orlando this year, many of the banks are sponsoring events for clients plus their whole families. Since it's "Jersey Week" many AFP attendees from NJ will be bringing their whole families.

The WDW Hilton is one of the hotels on the convention preferred list, as well as all Universal hotels, among many others. No "on property" WDW resorts are on the list.